do you ever wonder if the stars shine out for you
by MusicMessenger16
Summary: human beings are funny. they long to be with the person they love, but refuse to admit openly. some are afraid to show even the slightest sign of affection because of fear. fear that their feelings may not be recognised, or even worst, returned. sometimes, vampires are too. the one where the beauty thinks of the beast. klaus x caroline


Caroline thinks about him.

More than she should, she supposes. But she can't help herself, damn it. She half heartedly listens as Elena prattles on and on, the seemingly eternal Salvatore triangle running its course. Damon is frustrated, Elena is torn (as usual) and Stefan is lost. She's still partial to the latter, but the blond can't help but feel a twinge of sympathy as she watches the elder Salvatore desperately cling to her best (is she really?) friend.

History is doomed to repeat itself, they say. Maybe they're right, because Caroline can't help but notice how much this scene reminds her of Katherine and Damon and all the 'I never really loved you's and she wonders if it will ever end. Stefan is so confused and the places are almost switched, except Elena's never changes. They still treat her like the fragile, poor, innocent victim, and a dark corner in Caroline's mind wants to shake them until they realize what the doe eyed brunette is doing to them.

But she doesn't.

She remains the loyal, faithful best friend, always nods at the right times and smiles kindly whenever Elena talks about how _torn _she is and she loves Damon, but it's Stefan, it's _always _been Stefan—Caroline ends up wanting to shake _her _instead.

Caroline doesn't admit it, but she wonders at night as she stares at the stars with the same lonely, vacant feeling in her heart. She doesn't admit how much she secretly longs to hear for him, she doesn't admit that New Orleans will always be her biggest what if. She doesn't admit that she listens to his voicemail every night, curled up under the covers.

A few months pass.

Bonnie is still dead.

Jesse is persistent as ever. He opens the door for her, and smiles brightly every morning. He's persistent, but not what she wants. Jesse's not abrasive and loud like Tyler _was _and he's not like _him _either. But he's nice, and he's there, and why not.

They're scheduled for small sort-of-but-not-really date one night, Caroline refuses to dive too deep because she just can't, okay? Jesse takes his time and there is a knock on the door. Knock. Knock. After a few moments she can't handle the incessant noise, and exasperatedly opens the door, opening her mouth to tell whoever it was to go the hell away—but it's not whoever, it's _him. _

Her eyes widen and she takes him in.

He's wet. Yes, r_eally. _

His Henley is plastered to his skin, and his hair is unruly but his blue eyes shine up at her brokenly. She can feel her heart panging painfully because he looks at her the way that the Salvatore brothers look at Elena, or at least, used to—and that's all she ever wanted.

"Mind letting me in, love?" Klaus whispers huskily, and she flushes, nods, carefully taking his hand and dragging him in. It feels like someone's electrocuting her when their fingers interlock for a brief moment. He sits quietly, and she can tell something is wrong.

"I'm guessing this is worse than Rebekah's temper tantrums?" Caroline teases him lightly, earning a small laugh in return. She can't help but notice the underlying fragility in his tremors.

"Thank you for letting me in, love." He says instead, and for a brief moment he sounds so earnest and genuine, she can't help but smile.

They talk for a few minutes (she's observant to note that he's readying himself to tell her the real reason he came) and it's almost like the nightmare of Bonnie's death, Quetsiyah's return, Stefan in a box, is just it, a nightmare. They talk about her dreams and the future and stupid Salvatore drama, and it's like her undead heart is thudding erratically.

"Klaus, why did you really come here?" Caroline asks suddenly, softly.

He stiffens.

Nothing she didn't expect.

The silence is unbecoming.

She locks eyes with him, saying what she couldn't with words. _Don't do this, don't shut down like with everyone else. _

"I—needed to see you." Klaus whispers hesitantly, encouraged by her hand gently squeezing his.

"Because the truth is—" But she doesn't get to find out what the truth is. Because as the door swings in revealing Jesse, Klaus is out and she knows it.

"Hey, Care, you ready for our date—hey, who's this?" Jesse is chirping over enthusiastically again, and she so desperately wants to punch him. Klaus shuts down.

He smiles icily, getting up and running a hand through his hair. "I—Jesse, this is Klaus, Klaus this is Jesse." Caroline practically whispers the last few words because as Klaus has gotten to know her, she has gotten to know him too. She knows he's going to leave and she hates how much she desperately wants him to stay. It scares her.

Without more than a moment of hesitation, Caroline gets up and follows him to the door, shooting a meaningful look towards Jesse who is still smiling like an utter and completely clueless idiot.

"Klaus—" He shakes his head, forcing himself to look away from her. He is all too keenly aware of how his heart has dropped seven feet under, and he can almost hear Mikael's voice in his mind, and _how _could he have been so stupid? Of course she's with someone else. Because if it's not a Tyler, it's a Jesse, and he hates knowing it will probably never be him.

"You have plans, I apologize. I should have never come." Klaus says tiredly, swallowing the irritating lump in his throat.

Caroline is vaguely aware of her own heart dropping as she hears him and she wants to protest, tell him to shut up stop saying those things, but she doesn't. She thinks of Elena and Damon and her mother. Her fear triumphs her pain.

Before she can blink, he has sped away with his head down.

It's probably the only time he has ever walked away from her.

He's gone and he's cursing himself because how could he have been so stupid? A vampire's greatest weakness is love and she could never love a monster, right?

Caroline stays outside longer, letting minutes pass her by as rain falls. She stays until the rain can hide her tears.

Jesse is concerned but she waves him off, pretending to be fine because that's what she always does, isn't it? The next dates don't get better, she's always thinking quietly to herself and when they kiss he's always surprised at the coldness of her lips.

He goes to Elena, figuring she would know about her 'best friend's problems. Apparently not. Elena asks Caroline about it later, and she claims Jesse's seeing things, secretly hoping Elena will finally notice there's something wrong with her. Instead, Elena just laughs and launches into an angry argument with Damon over the phone.

Two weeks later, the professor announces a trip to New Orleans.

Caroline is the first to sign up.

She convinces Elena it's because they both need to get out and have fun. Caroline doesn't mention it to Jesse, instead choosing to give him the 'let's just stay friends' speech. It doesn't matter much because really, they hadn't done anything in weeks. They get there late at night, and it's kind of sad how the first thing they do is go into a bar, but they both have problems that are too big to fix over night. Later that night , she goes off exploring on her own, her heart aching at the remembrance of 'I hope I can show it to you someday'.

"Stefan?" Caroline gasps and speeds over to her friend. His eyes widen and he grins, hugging her as if to make sure she's real.

"Care? I had no idea you were here!" "That makes two of us!"

Suddenly Rebekah pops up beside him, frowning at her as usual. She nods back a little over enthusiastically. There's something sad in the British blonde's smile, but Caroline doesn't ask. Instead, she lets the two have their space, pretends that she can't see their entwined hands in the dark. Soon, Stefan has to go to the bathroom and there is an unwaveringly awkward silence between the two Vampire Barbies.

"How is he?" Caroline blurts out, causing the other girl to blink back in surprise.

"I assumed you would know, considering he came to you." Rebekah said carefully, confusion written in her eyes.

She winces at the memory of that day. "He left before finishing what he was going to say to me. All he said was that he needed to talk to me." Caroline recalls, sighing tiredly.

Rebekah purses her lips but bites her tongue. "Why do you care?" she asks instead, a level of protective hostility hidden behind an innocent enough question.

Caroline is thrown for a few seconds. "B-Because we're friends."

Rebekah gives her a look, and she can tell that she doesn't believe her. "We are!" Caroline says defensively, looking down indecisively.

"We are," she repeats.

They're silent until Stefan comes back, cleverly diverting the conversation to a safe enough topic, his brother.

The three speed to the Mikaelson mansion and Caroline grows more and more nervous. They enter to see Klaus speaking (kindly?) to another blond that has a laugh that seems to mock her as it grows louder and more ridiculous every second.

Klaus sees her the moment they come in, but pretends not to notice, attempting to look like Camille actually holds his attention. Rebekah shoots him a disapproving glare that he ignores, tilting his head towards Stefan.

Rebekah feels pity for a moment, allowing herself to reassure the baby vamp. "He's just being petty, Camille bores him."

Caroline nods, feeling utterly unconvinced. "Right." She breathes, closing her eyes for a few moments. Stefan pats her concernedly, grimacing at the sound of Camille.

She makes up an excuse to go out on the balcony, praying for rain. She thinks that someone up there is taking pity on her, because it does rain. Heavily. Caroline lets everything wash over her. The fact the Bonnie's still dead, Elena's blinding drama, Tyler, Klaus, Camille. It never ends.

She cries silently, shivering as rain splatters heavily against her face. Her phone rings and a few moments later she half wishes she didn't answer. "Caroline, I have a problem!" Elena says.

Numbly, Caroline throws her phone wildly against the hard balcony floor. She is tempted to crush it, and just as she is about to deliver the killing blow, a voice stops her.

"Do you really want to do that, sweetheart?" Klaus asks dryly, sighing as he recalled Rebekah's threats of what he would receive to the head if he didn't talk to her.

Caroline is frozen, biting her lip as she tries her hardest to keep her face hidden. She forces herself to stay still, why can't she stop shivering?

"Caroline," he sighs, forcing himself to sound minimally calm. He hates how the minute she waltzes back in front of him, he forgets about everything else. He hates how for the first time since Tatia, he_ cares. _Hates how just like Tatia she can't care back.

She can feel fear paralyze her. _Caroline, Caroline, Caroline. _This is it, she thinks. No more sweet heart, no more fancying and last loves.

Klaus frowns, striding closer while remaining at arms' length. The rain hits both of them. "Are you mad?" Klaus shouts finally, as the rain—which suspiciously feels like cold, hard, hail, continues. He instinctively shields her, taking off his jacket and throwing it around her.

She shakes her head "I—I'm sorry, I never should've come." She echoes his words weeks ago and he almost understands.

He leads her inside gently, relishing the close proximity because the voice in his head reminds him that this will never happen again.

She leans into him and she thinks—are villains supposed to be warm? Villains aren't supposed to be dimpled and beautiful. It would be so much easier if he wasn't so much.

"Why are you here, Caroline?" Klaus asks, swallowing the treacherous idea of hope, down.

Caroline thinks of her Elena and Damon and her mother.

"I needed to see you."


End file.
